October 29, 2004
The Standard
A few of us went to the Standard in downtown LA on Thursday night. It's got a great rooftop bar & lounge. Check out the pix!
October 27, 2004
Thoughts of the Day
1) American nationalism is pathetically weak nowadays.
2) I really need to produce something nice & shiny NOW!
3) I want to be able to get through a semester without borrowing from my credit card or my parents. Oh for a balanced budget!
4)I want to have some inkling of what kind of career I might want upon graduating. Not sure whether simple titles like: Game Designer or Film Director fit my unique skill-set. How does my love of talking with people fit in? How does my faith factor in? Should these factor in?
5) What's up with Christian cliques?! I still don't get those people who have tons of Bible verses memorized, hang out ONLY with other Christians, etc, etc...basically going through all the motions, yet fearful to death of questioning their own beliefs. How can you evangelize to someone if you're not willing to even consider the possibility that you're wrong?
6) I wanna perform! Use my vocal & acting talents. MC, DJ, something!
7) Maybe I need to exploit the fact that I'm at USC FILM SCHOOL even more. Maybe I'm more interested in the word "Media" than I am "Interactive" (was that too taboo to say? Will the EA god strike me down?)
October 22, 2004
Hunger Kills: A Sims Research Experiment
As many of you know, I'm really interested in the potential for drama in interactive media. Lately, I've been researching the potential for characters to react based on internal wants & needs. I decided it might be good to start with two of the most base needs: Hunger & Sleep. Now in real life, both of these seem to be tied together in our bodies' larger need for energy. So I wanted to test whether Hunger and Energy are linked in the Sims.
I started by placing Heinrich, who had agreed to forego food until the completion of the experiment, in a prison (don't worry Scott, he signed a consent form). I made sure that Heinrich otherwise had all the comforts of home:
From what I could tell, Hunger and Energy are not directly linked, though in practice a hungry Sim will not have much energy. This is due to the fact that Sims just can't seem to get to sleep when they are starving:
However, from past play experiences (in which I barricaded a sleeping Sim in bed), I learned that a sleeping Sim cannot die of hunger. So poor Heinrich was very much awake when he bit the dust:
One thing to note is that when a Sim is completely exhausted, he will pass out and regain some of his energy. Despite being completely famished, Heinrich's energy level went up at a normal rate during these moments of unconsciousness. In the end, Heinrich died of hunger, not a loss of energy:
Heinrich, may you rest in peace knowing that your sacrifice has served to further the knowledge of the IM department.
Heinrich, we hardly knew ye.
October 12, 2004
October 09, 2004
Virtual Conversations Technology
Found this site by accident. They specialize in creating "virtual conversations" with a video version of a real person. Sounds like it's right up my alley!
I still need to read the IEEE paper on this, but from what I could gather, the participant is prompted on screen with a list of questions that he may ask. The participant may then speak the question into a microphone attached to the computer, and the video human will respond. Although this sounds like only a small step away from the adventure games of the mid-90s, the company claims that just being allowed to speak the question enhances immersion and increases suspension of disbelief.
October 07, 2004
Nostalgia:
I just discovered the other day that I have access to Launchcast Plus internet radio (http://launch.yahoo.com), and the best part is that they have several stations dedicated to the 1990s, including "Hits of 10 Years Ago: 1994", and "1990s Alternative Rock." Wow, what a trip! Makes me feel old when half of my favorite songs are on these stations! And then there's the random ones we all forgot about, like "Regulate" by Warren G, "Fantastic Voyage" by Coolio, and "Insane in the Brain" by Cypress Hill
It's weird, but for a moment I was experiencing nostalgia for high school--things were in many ways simpler back then...but then of course, we didn't realize it then. One of these days, I think I want to make a 90s nostalgia film!
October 06, 2004
Thesis Questions I'm Kicking Around Right Now...
Here's where I'm at currently in my thought process for Telmahre:
1) Do I support Macintosh? - I feel that if I can support Macs, it'll widen the appeal for my project (and allow the entire department to install & run it...even you kwazy Mac people).
2) Can it Be Done without a 3D Engine? - I'm leaning away from this at present because of the learning curve & requirements that 3D engines place on content. For example, if I stick to 2D, I can use footage of real actors & locations interspersed with the virtual. In a full 3D setting, however, everything must ultimately be modeled in 3D.
3) What Exactly is a Drama Engine? - I've heard the term kicked around, and I have my own ideas on what it should be, but what they currently are...need to research this!
October 04, 2004
If Life Were a Romantic Comedy...
Dark Moment - The point where the romantic leads are as far from ending up together as possible.
Joyous Defeat - The moment when the leads overcome (defeat) their character flaws and (generally) end up together.
I've found that the romantic comedy I'm writing parallels the current state of my life pretty closely, and hence the direction of the story changes with the romantic beats in my own life. Several days ago I thought I knew the ending. Now, I'm left confused & disillusioned--in fact it's been suggested to me that maybe the dark moment should be the ending. It's an intriguing proposition from a writer's perspective...but it's pretty sad from the perspective of yours truly, who's always held out hope for a happy ending. I'd rather think that I just haven't found my ending yet, but that she's out there somewhere...
So, if life was like a RomCom, that would mean that I'm only one act away from getting the girl. You know, I don't know if I've ever had such a joyous defeat in my life. If life is like a RomCom, does that mean that I just haven't learned how to recover from such a moment? Or am I just dating girls who haven't read the rules?
Yeah, I know life isn't like a RomCom, so you needn't remind me. But why not? Why are things so complicated? Why don't people just naturally want to get together? Why are there so many pitfalls? Maybe you like their personality, but you're not physically attracted to them. Maybe you think they're hot, but you can't stand talking to them. Maybe you like everything about them except the one quality you won't compromise on (for me, their faith). Or maybe you like everything about them, and think you did everything right--more right than you ever have...only to be told that what you did was all wrong. (Of course there wouldn't be specific examples to go with each of these...no, of course not!--End Sarcasm--)
So two dilemmas remain:
1) How does my RomCom end? Do I write what I know, depressing as that is, or do I envision the future.
2) Do I pursue the girl and try for a real-life Joyous Defeat? Do I even still want her? Even if I did, would my efforts make any difference in this real world we live in? Only problem here is that with a Joyous Defeat, the main character overcomes the flaw that triggered the dark moment. No immediate flaw presents itself on my end...but then that causes me to start to second-guess myself. Is there some real-life character flaw that's still not evident to me? I've wondered whether I'm open enough with my own emotions--perhaps an effort to conquer that prompted this entry in the first place. Or maybe I have a tendency to dig too deep to fast with people. Or did an insistence on doing everything "right" ultimately cause me to stray from being totally myself & trusting my instincts (because right now I feel an stronger urge than ever to assert MYSELF, and once and for all stop worrying what everyone thinks...wow, I can't believe I'm posting this...please comment!)